YAD AVSHALOM (COMMENTARY ON PROVERBS), RABBI ISAAC ARAMA, [CONSTANTINOPLE, CA. 1565]

Isaac Arama (ca. 1420-1494), who served as rabbi in several Spanish communities before the expulsion of 1492, is perhaps best known for his Sefer akedat yitshak (first edition: Salonika, 1522), a collection of one hundred five philosophical homilies and allegorical commentaries on the Pentateuch that exercised great influence on subsequent Jewish thought, including that of his countryman Don Isaac Abrabanel (1437-1508). Less famous but also of considerable interest are Arama’s commentaries on Esther (Salonika, 1518), the rest of the Five Scrolls (two editions in Riva di Trento, 1561), and Proverbs, the latter of which comprises the present lot. Named for Arama’s son-in-law Absalom, who apparently died a premature death, Yad avshalom (see II Sam. 18:18) consists of essays connecting verses from different parts of the biblical book in order to develop a coherent idea. It was subsequently reprinted in 1859 in Leipzig with notes by Zevi Hirsch Levin (Hart Lyon; 1721-1800), head of the rabbinic court of Berlin.